Review: Tonight The Streets are Ours by Leila Sales

Tonight The Streets are Ours

Author: Leila Sales

Published On: September 15^th, 2015

Page Count: 342

I received an ARC of this at BEA in May. This is my honest opinion of the book. Anything that is quoted is from an uncorrected version. Story subject to change.

Synopsis: (Found on Goodreads)

Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But she's tired of being loyal to people who don't appreciate her—including her needy best friend and her absent mom. 
Arden finds comfort in a blog she stumbles upon called "Tonight the Streets Are Ours," the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter.

Overall Rating: 2/5

This had so much potential to be amazing but the stalkerness was too close to home for me so I wasn`t comfortable.If you don`t mind her obsessiveness about guys and her driving 100+ miles to see this guy then feel free to read it. The blog posts Peter writes are enjoyable. I really wanted to like this, I really did.

Cover: 4/5

This cover is freaking gorgeous. The colors just pull you in and scream fun. However I didn’t feel this way about the inside.

Characters: 1/5

Arden: Is obsessive in the worst way. She is very stalkerish but like the book states she is “recklessly loyal.”

Lindsay: Part One: Absolutely hate her. She has no boundaries and doesn`t care who gets in trouble for her. Part Two: She encouraged Arden to do those things plus who the hell runs off and does illegal things with strangers? Oh Wait apparently she does.

Peter: I liked him I really did. I loved his posts and how he aspired to be a writer. Part two I just wanted to kill him and just GAH!!!!

Chris: Part One: I wanted to punch him for being a selfish dick towards Arden and just taking advantage of her as a girlfriend. Part Two: smart man, yay for acting and having other friends.

Plot: NO I`m Done

Extras:

06/06	page 43		12.0%	"Interesting so far. Not sure how I'm going to like this one. The doll part was interesting, very American Girl like. The way her dad brushed off the first incident was sort of unrealistic."
06/07	page 183		51.0%	"Starting to get good although I want to punch Chris really hard. Lindsay pisses me off from the get go and I feel like Arden is almost to "nice""
06/10	page 236		67.0%	"From this point on im only reading this to get the reading rainbow and GR challenge done. This chick is a freaking stalker, her friend is reckless, boyfriend is a pompous jerkface (appropriate language) and the only sort of (maybe) sane person is Peter. She is obsessive and very creepy even if she "means well""

Last 15pgs were good. The concept was there about not always relying on others and that you need to take care of yourself. However the characters just didn't do it for me

TTFN,

Ashley

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ArcAugust Participation and Goals

For the month of August Octavia over at Read,Sleep,Repeat is hosting #ArcAugust.  A month long event in which you read all the Arcs. (Advanced reader Copies)

Here are my goals for this month in just Arcs. I do plan on reading other things....I hope.

1) Dumplin` by Julie Murphy
2) Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman
3) The Dead House by Dawn
4) Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
5) Armada by Ernest Cline

So thats it just 5 books this month. I`ve already started The Dead House and I am loving it.

Also friendly reminder I am hosting a Review-a-thon from August 3rd-10th. Use the #WriteThoseReviews to get updates and do writing sprints. Here is the link for more information.

I will post ArcAugust updates on the blog August 15th and August 31st. other than that evrything will be updated on twitter. :)

What books are you reading this month? Are you doing ArcAugust?

TTFN,
Ashley

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Review: Every Last Word by Tamera Ireland Stone

Every Last Word

Author: Tamera Ireland Stone

Published Date: June 16^th, 2015

Page Count: 368

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.

Synopsis: (Found on Goodreads)

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.

Overall Rating: 5/5 (Would totally add more stars)

                I had the opportunity to read this out loud to my parents on our drive to see family for 10hrs. Maybe it’s because I was able to slow down and process more of the book because I was talking out loud but the emotions Every Last Word evokes is so strong and provoking. Highly recommend.

 Cover: 5/5

                I love the cover. It is so simple yet fits the plot of the book so well. The only thing that could be different is adding in a fry wrapper or something to represent the humor in the book as well. I also love that the title is said in the book. It makes it mean so much more.

Characters: 5/5

                Samantha: or Sam as she likes to be called during the summer is struggling to leave the safety net of “friends.” Her struggle with perfection and not being “crazy” is well written. Having OCD or Pure-O isn`t something that you want everyone to know about so her being to open up using poetry and making new friends shows such growth.

                AJ: He is shy in the hallways but if you give him a guitar and mic stand he sweats confidence. He teaches Sam about growing up and moving on. He stands by her even though they didn’t start out on the right foot. He keeps the key to Poet`s Corner and keeps the tradition of the room alive.

                Caroline: She is everything that Samantha is not. Brave and opinionated. I love that Caroline offers the best advice at just the right time. She makes it possible for those in need to make friends and find themselves. She is creative and funny and probably the perfect best friend.

Plot: 5/5

Stone writes such relatable characters and they experiences they have most teens have gone through. OCD is seen as not as serious so this sheds new light on an illness that some don’t know much about.

This isn`t just about OCD, its about moving on and realizing that having toxic people in your life isn’t healthy. That no one is ever going to be perfectly normal. Samantha grows so much in this novel.

Poet Corner, Freaking incredible. It sounds absolutely magical and whimsical and I could probably spend hours down there, reading every single poem pasted to the walls.

Social Media Reactions: Watch the panic of reading out loud to my parents occur in twitter and goodread updates.

Twitter Updates:

@tamaraistone @HyperionTeens reading #EveryLastWord out loud to parents on 10hr drive to Washington. 175 pages in and loving it. :)

@tamaraistone pg 245/355 reading out loud was a big awkward but we got past it. I'm feeling a crushing moment coming and I'm nervous.

@tamaraistone Oh My God... I just can't... My mom audibly gasped, my dad said "no fucking way" only 50pgs to go and I already want to reread

#EveryLastWord Last update. Finished in rest area and there were tears. Amazing story and I can't wait to pass it on. Thank you @tamaraistone

Goodreads updates:

06/08	page 228		61.0%	"The swimming part. Oh Lordy. :) managed to read it straight faced outloud. I like AJ and I really don't want to see anything get messed up between Sam and Him. There is a sinking feeling that something will happen."
06/08	page 303		82.0%	"https://twitter.com/bookz4nerdz/statu... Literally twitter has become this books journey. I'm just said it's over in 50pgs. Lots of feelings right now in the car"

Let me know what you think in the comments below. Have you read ELW yet? What outlets do you use to channel your feelings?

TTFN,

Ashley

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